Jaguar Land Rover invests $25m in Lyft for autonomous vehicles

Jaguar Land Rover has invested $25m (£19.7m) in Lyft, an American ridesharing company and Uber rival through its mobility services arm InMotion.

Sebastian Peck, InMotion managing director, said that the deal would include a push towards developing autonomous and connected vehicles.

He said: “Personal mobility and smart transportation is evolving and this new collaborative venture will provide a real-world platform helping us to develop our connected and autonomous services.”

The carmaker said its investment would support Lyft’s expansion and technology plans, and that it would provide a fleet of Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.

Peck added: “We are excited to collaborate with a leading platform like Lyft not only on developing premium mobility solutions but also devising innovative solutions to the transport problems Jaguar Land Rover’s customers face.”

InMotion recently provided seed investment to SPLT, a digital carpool business based in Detroit, which works with Lyft to provide medical transport for non-emergency cases.

John Zimmer, Lyft president and co-founder, said: “We’re excited to join forces with Jaguar Land Rover and InMotion.

“Lyft envisions a future where shared mobility will transport cities and improve people’s lives. This partnership will help us achieve that ambitious goal.”